Tender Seitan Slices In Herbed Gravy

Turkeys aren't very thankful when it comes to Thanksgiving due to the fact that they all know that they are going to be the Main Course in most households across North America on the 4th Thursday in November every year. As a longtime dedicated vegan, I am always looking for main course alternatives to meat, poultry, and fish.

Seitan (pronounced say-tahn) is not to be confused with Satan, which is also known as The Devil. Seitan isn't evil; it's just misunderstood.

Seitan has been around for centuries, but for the average consumer, it seems it is only now a new revelation. Seitan is also known as Meat Of Wheat, as it is made using vital wheat gluten.

Making your own seitan isn't as complicated as most people assume it is. It can take a long time, if you make it completely from scratch (which involves isolating the wheat gluten on your own by starting with 8 cups of white flour and 8 cups of whole wheat flour mixed with water to form a dough and then washing and rinsing the dough until all the water runs clear, which can take several hours.)

Over the years, I have tried many, many seitan recipes and all of them fell short somehow, so I developed this recipe using a lot of trial and error, but now I think it has reached Perfection as well as an award-winning status :)

Lucky for all of you, there are shortcuts that make this very easy to make (!) The key to this recipe is the gravy. If your gravy is good, your seitan will also taste good.

We all like easy and uncomplicated recipes, especially during the hectic holiday season when time always runs out at the most inopportune moments.

Equipment:

heavy duty aluminum foil
food processor with a "S"-blade
Steamer* (You can use a big pot with a lid and a colander instead if that is all you have)
colander
measuring cups
can opener (if you are using canned garbanzo beans)
saucepan
spoon or spatula for stirring

You will want to make the gravy first. Once made, set it aside and allow to cool (It can be warm, but if it is too hot, you will burn your hands when trying to knead the seitan..).

Set up your food processor with the "S"-Blade.

Prepare garbanzo beans by draining and rinsing off with cool water in a colander.

Add garbanzo beans to the food processor bowl and pulse for 30-45 seconds, or until they are well chopped (but not pureed).

Add cooled gravy to pulsed garbanzo beans.

Pulse again for 30-45 seconds or until well blended.

Slowly add vital wheat gluten flour to the food processor a cup at a time.

You know when it's done when it starts to form a ball of soft, stretchy, slightly shiny dough.

Remove from food processor and knead for 3-5 minutes or until smoothed out. Cover, and allow to rest 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start a pot of water to boil or set up a steamer.

Break into 4 smaller balls of dough and roll out into logs.

Wrap tightly in foil and steam seitan for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Note: Depending on your steamer size, you may not be able to fit all of them in there at once. That's OK, but make sure all your raw seitan is wrapped in foil until ready to be steamed. It is best to steam it as soon as possible though, because it doesn't turn out as well if you wait more than a couple of hours to steam it).

What am I doing wrong? The dough was so sticky and although I kept adding gluten flour while trying to knead it just stuck to my counter and hands. DId I not pulse long enough? I ended up spraying the dough with pam so I could manage it. Please advise? Have not steamed it yet but hoping it turns out with so much extra flour added!

That might have been my problem! I was too impatient! Thanks for the info! Despite the kinks it worked out so well which says a lot for this recipe!! The gravy was soooo nice! Only had dried herbs but it was really good!!

Looks different than the picture but smells and tastes lovely! Any tips on managing the kneading part so dough is not so sticky and messy would be much appreciated. I just used regular gluten flour. Not sure if that made a difference?

Tapioca Flour is also known as Tapioca Starch. Most well-stocked grocery stores carry it - it is usually either in the baking section, the natural food section, or sometimes it might be in the gluten-free section (if your store has one). Also, pretty much every Asian store carries it too, so if you don't have luck at the grocery store, check at one of those. It works similarly to flour in that it acts as a thickening agent (as in gravy). However, I use tapioca starch/flour rather than flour because it creates a much smoother consistency and it doesn't clump up like flour does when it cools down (it stays thick but doesn't become a big blob...)

Steaming I think helps a lot - in fact, I think it is a key element to making good seitan. When I first started making seitan, I used other recipes that I found online and every one of them said to boil it... Texturally, it was very bad when I did it that way. It was gristly, like chewing on a piece of fat or something. Steaming is WAY better :) Slicing the steamed seitan and then baking it in gravy for an hour or so totally makes this recipe shine. In the past, I baked the whole loaf in gravy, but slicing it first makes a huge difference. Each slice soaks up the moisture and flavor of the gravy. My dad, who isn't a fan of faux meats at all, really loved this, and my mom, who is more open to faux meat said this was the best seitan she has ever had in her life (and not just because she's my mom, but because she actually did think that).

About This Instructable

Bio:4th Generation Native Utahn; Became vegetarian in 1987 and a vegan for life in 1995. I am a concert junkie and love to attend live music events. I enjoy sci-fi, especially when it comes to Doctor Who ...read more »